Highlights of Palin Interview (excerpts air tonight, full interview plays again Friday)

My quick thoughts – Palin is ill prepared to address Foreign Policy. When asked key issues about war and allies, Palin consistently repeated the exact same phrases over and over again, showing that she does not have a nuanced grasp of international affairs and is only able to parrot what she has been told/taught. She has two months to learn about things as important as Israel and Georgia at a time that Putin is land grabbing and Georgians may have been attacking pro-Russian citizens?

Palin on Russia-Georgia, Israel, and the Middle East

My favorite quotes from this portion:

GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?

PALIN: They’re our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.

and

“What do you think of the Bush Doctrine?”

Sigh. “In what respect Charlie”

“The Bush Doctrine . . . Well, what do you, what do you interpret it to be?”

It was terrible to watch. Seriously. It could make you feel bad for her, and the position in which she is placed, even if you aren’t a supporter. Too much too soon. She isn’t ready, and she isn’t going to be before the election.

I actually laughed at her response to the Bush Doctrine question and damn near lost it as I watched the pundits try to claim that “she knew what she was saying.” Yeah right. I am not saying that the woman is dumb, but she clearly does not have the request knowledge to do the job of VP. The only scary thing about this is the fact that Bush who is equally uninformed was elected TWICE…If there is a trend towards incompetence and ignorance she could be swept in with the GOP.

She did a great job. She has my vote. In reference to the ” you can see Russia from here” comment, Charlie asked her a question RIGHT after, basically before she finished, so she didn’t have time to clarify. Move on.

JM – I feel you. I think we are all clear now why McCain was keepping her away from the press and why the interview was aired at the same time as his event with Obama..Lesboprof- welcome to the blog. I have a hard time feeling sorry for people who take on leadership positions without the prerequisite skill set. While I empathize with people I disagree with regularly, she accepted this position knowing she was ill-prepared. I think the best sign of good judgment on both their parts would have been for McCain to not offer and for her to say “no” when he did. (She could have said she thought she had more work to do in Wasilla and then, knowing she was considered so closely, used that for a cabinet position and to make more in roads in Washington while she got up to speed for a later bid.).Renee – I laughed too. I don’t think she is dumb, I think she let her ambition cloud her own self-assessment. While many do this, what it tells me about her bid for the White House is that both her skill and judgment are way below where they should be for the job.As for the pundits, I lost a lot of respect for them as they kept repeating what she said as if she was willing to back a nuclear strike against Iran by Israel. We all know she was just repeating what she’d been told in the face of increasing ignorance about the answers and the players…Chris – welcome to the blog and thanks for giving us some insight on how people are able to continue to support this ticket. Selective viewing, much like McCain’s selective listening and memory, may leave a woman who does not know enough about Israel to answer a basic question about the Middle East in charge of a region where we are thoroughly enmeshed in conflict. I’m glad one of us feels safe doing that. As for “moving on” everyone here has the same right to analyze our candidates and make informed decisions; this has been our electoral process since the founding of the country.

Hey Missprofe 😀 I have been a little confused about all the “great orator” comments about her and the reality of her distracting hand gestures and hyperbole that in no way mask her lack of experience and knowledge.